Aviva PLC Sells 74,489 Shares of Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA)

Aviva PLC cut its stake in shares of Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA) by 11.2% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 588,872 shares of the credit services provider’s stock after selling 74,489 shares during the quarter. Mastercard makes up 0.8% of Aviva PLC’s portfolio, making the stock its 18th largest holding. Aviva PLC’s holdings in Mastercard were worth $310,082,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in MA. NewSquare Capital LLC bought a new position in Mastercard during the 4th quarter valued at about $26,000. Marshall Investment Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Mastercard in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $30,000. Halbert Hargrove Global Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Mastercard in the 4th quarter worth approximately $32,000. Truvestments Capital LLC grew its position in Mastercard by 62.5% during the 4th quarter. Truvestments Capital LLC now owns 65 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $34,000 after acquiring an additional 25 shares during the last quarter. Finally, CoreFirst Bank & Trust acquired a new stake in Mastercard during the 4th quarter valued at $37,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 97.28% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, insider Edward Grunde Mclaughlin sold 7,132 shares of Mastercard stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, March 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $534.68, for a total value of $3,813,337.76. Following the sale, the insider now owns 34,524 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $18,459,292.32. This trade represents a 17.12 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Michael Miebach sold 15,775 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, March 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $550.16, for a total value of $8,678,774.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 84,871 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $46,692,629.36. This trade represents a 15.67 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.10% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Mastercard Stock Performance

Shares of Mastercard stock opened at $489.94 on Friday. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $550.92 and its 200 day simple moving average is $528.08. The company has a current ratio of 1.03, a quick ratio of 1.03 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.68. The company has a market capitalization of $446.68 billion, a PE ratio of 35.27, a PEG ratio of 2.37 and a beta of 1.06. Mastercard Incorporated has a 12 month low of $428.86 and a 12 month high of $582.23.

Mastercard (NYSE:MA) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 30th. The credit services provider reported $3.82 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.71 by $0.11. Mastercard had a return on equity of 188.47% and a net margin of 45.71%. On average, research analysts predict that Mastercard Incorporated will post 15.91 EPS for the current year.

Mastercard announced that its Board of Directors has approved a stock repurchase program on Tuesday, December 17th that allows the company to buyback $12.00 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization allows the credit services provider to repurchase up to 2.5% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are generally a sign that the company’s board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

Mastercard Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 9th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, April 9th will be given a dividend of $0.76 per share. This represents a $3.04 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.62%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, April 9th. Mastercard’s dividend payout ratio is 21.89%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms have commented on MA. Royal Bank of Canada boosted their price objective on Mastercard from $572.00 to $650.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Morgan Stanley lowered their price objective on shares of Mastercard from $654.00 to $644.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Citigroup upped their target price on shares of Mastercard from $584.00 to $650.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Monness Crespi & Hardt raised shares of Mastercard from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $640.00 price target for the company in a report on Friday, January 31st. Finally, Oppenheimer dropped their price objective on shares of Mastercard from $591.00 to $588.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, December 19th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-four have assigned a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $606.11.

Mastercard Profile

Mastercard Incorporated, a technology company, provides transaction processing and other payment-related products and services in the United States and internationally. The company offers integrated products and value-added services for account holders, merchants, financial institutions, digital partners, businesses, governments, and other organizations, such as programs that enable issuers to provide consumers with credits to defer payments; payment products and solutions that allow its customers to access funds in deposit and other accounts; prepaid programs services; and commercial credit, debit, and prepaid payment products and solutions.